Saints fan here :) We have a looong wait so...thoughts?

[Laloosh]

This will be our toughest matchup to date. IMO. and, if we don't contain that freak of a TE of yours this game could get out of hand.... We've had troubles covering the TE this year and Graham could have a monster game if our pass rush doesn't get to Brees and effect his throwing lanes...

This game might be won on the last possession of the game.... I think any Hawks fan that thinks this will be a cakewalk is being a huge homer and doesn't see the 9-2 team coming our way.

How many TDs did VD or Gonzo have against us? Olsen from Carolina? Which tight ends have we struggled with (honest question as I'm unaware of a TE that's hurt us this season)?

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

Why does everyone keep saying "you got Harvin back?"

What we did was get Harvin period, he never played a snap for us this season until now.

:les:

Pure semantics.

 

[kidhawk]

Our punt return team is giving up around 1.5 yards/return on punts this year, #1 in the league I believe.

Correct me if I am wrong, but i believe that we have given up a total of 15 yards all year on punt returns, so it would be 1.5 yards/game.

yes that is correct, I don't know why I wrote per return. It is a per game stat

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

4. I have to revise part of my post. I said our ST were good and the Saints were average. Evidently, according to PFF, ours is the best (by a wide margin) and theirs is top 5. It's still enough to win the field position battle, but maybe not as big a deal as I made it. Then again, we get Harvin returning kicks, which is a different level than we've had all season.

hartley (our place kicker) is inconsistent at best, and many fans want him gone. moorstead (punter/kickoff guy) is top 3 (possibly best) in the league. he's going to make a huge difference in the game. dude's got a boot. if it's rainy and cold, special teams may make all the difference in this game.

This is my thought. That special teams play is going to be a huge factor and because of that Percy Harvin, he will give us an extra short field or two and that will be a big advantage.

 

[jblaze]

Two very different teams that approach the game differently. Rattle Brees and it will be a long day, harder than it sounds but it is possible.

Lynch will be nigh impossible to stop in this one. Get beyond the line and into the second tier and it's gonna get ugly.

 

[SirTed]

Seattle is light years better than the Jets and the Pats.

i feel like there's a bit of selective memory on this board. didn't y'all nearly just lose to the Bucs? earlier in the season, you nearly lost to a really shitty texans team. in fact, the Saints have the second hardest SOS in the league. the seahawks have the 10th. so to say the saints have been playing cupcakes is far from the truth, brah.

With that logic didn't you almost lose to the Falcons last night a team that just got crushed by Tampa and Seattle?

Don't forget : "Didn't the Saints crush the Horrible Bucs by 2 points in week two"

 

[CANHawk]

Hey, what happened to that Saints fan that we all liked? The guy with the Father Guido Sarducci avatar. Guido something something IIRC... I liked that guy (not that I don't like the guys in this thread). I hope he comes back this week.

 

[lengai]

he is pretty cool...Asylum Guido.

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

Brees isn't Newton, Kaepernick, Henne, Schaub, Fitzpatrick, Palmer, Clemens, Glennon, Ryan, or Palmer. He isn't even Luck. He doesn't throw to his guys in the same manner that our defense typically feeds on, panicking on blitzes and throwing up desperate sideline fades that Thomas and Sherman pick off. Brees makes his living between the numbers and can beat the blitz with underneath passes. When he does need to go deep, he rifles it horizontally instead of floating it. I doubt our defense gets a pick. In fact, I expect our defense to have their worst game of the year. They'll pay for more mistakes than they usually do. People here will panic, but the explanation will simply be that we finally faced an elite QB for the first time since last year and that forcing him to dink-and-dunk all day is actually a victory.

You do know that Brees has averaged a hair under a pick/game since coming to NO (and over his entire career) right? I don't think it's that far fetched to think our D will be able to get a turnover or two off of him.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

4. I have to revise part of my post. I said our ST were good and the Saints were average. Evidently, according to PFF, ours is the best (by a wide margin) and theirs is top 5. It's still enough to win the field position battle, but maybe not as big a deal as I made it. Then again, we get Harvin returning kicks, which is a different level than we've had all season.

hartley (our place kicker) is inconsistent at best, and many fans want him gone. moorstead (punter/kickoff guy) is top 3 (possibly best) in the league. he's going to make a huge difference in the game. dude's got a boot. if it's rainy and cold, special teams may make all the difference in this game.

This is my thought. That special teams play is going to be a huge factor and because of that Percy Harvin, he will give us an extra short field or two and that will be a big advantage.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

Howdy everyone. We have a long wait for the MNF game. I've read some threads and you guys seem to have the same energy we had in '09. Obviously I hope we win, but I wanted to see what you guys think about our team (please stick to realistsic questions/comments)? I haven't seen Seattle play much. I know the D is stout, O-Line is healthy, Percy is back, Lynch is still Lynch, and Wilson is doing pretty much what he did last year so it's a very tough matchup.

If you watched the game last night we focused on minimizing mistakes and grinding out the W. Smart, but not how we usually play. Corey White is our backup corner since Greer lost his knee and looks to be the guy the offensive game plan will be focusing on isolating becuase he played like a rookie. The teams are both doing well so my guess is that it wil come down to controlling the line of scrimmage, defensive pressure, and someone making a goofy mistake.

If we were discussing the Niners the worry would be somebody making a poofy mistake.

 

[CANHawk]

he is pretty cool...Asylum Guido.

THAT'S the guy! Cool like the other side of the pillow! He got to be pretty regular here. Haven't seen him in a while though. If you see him on your boards, tell him to come around to dotnet for game week (unless he's too big of a pussy). ;P

 

[Lords of Scythia]

The Seahawks finally stopped making major stupid mistakes every game, and we have our starting tackles back now.

Honestly, and I am not trolling here at all nor am I being delusional, but I think we run away with it. The jump our young, fast defense gets at home every snap just plays hell with opposing offenses. Tampa Bay surprised the hell out of us and we made some seriously dumb mistakes on defense, but those seem to have been fixed, so any Saints fans hanging their hats on that as reason to hope for a win shouldn't expect too much.

That being said, Brees is still Brees. Even if he didn't look like it in Atlanta last night.

We're one of the most penalized teams in the NFL and we're 10 and 1. A lot of that goes at the feet of our shutdown D--Legion of Boom. It's just what happens. The drive-killing o-line penalties will lessen now that we've got guys who aren't soiling themselves in terror every snap.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

Glad to have ya.

46 said everything I was thinking, and much more. There really isn't any matchup's that present any true concern for our staff, or for our players. Percy is going to create so many problems it's not even fair.

I think, in all seriousness, if you were to leave Monday night with no more key injuries to your skill guys, you're going to be doing good.

Yeah... I reeeeeealy hate to sound this arrogant, but in our house, at night in December against a finesse dome team from the South; I have a hard time seeing us do anything but beat the ever living shit out of them. I think merely surviving is a good moral victory for the Saints in this one. Our guys LIVE for primetime and look forward to every opportunity to show the world what they're capable of. This is probably the biggest matchup of the year so far, so our guys know that all eyes will be on them. I can't predict anything short of a critical beatdown.

Sorry brah...

You forgot to mention the Hawks will be playing for the top seed in the NFC and homefield throughout--additional kindling to the massacre. Don't be sorry, be safe.

 

[NINEster]

This is probably the biggest matchup of the year so far, so our guys know that all eyes will be on them. I can't predict anything short of a critical beatdown.

Yeah, but the Saints won't be hyped up for this game either :roll:

Not like our guys. Earl Thomas goes kookoo banannas for games like this. He's going to look like a Tasmanian devil out there. He works himself up into a fervor. I think he actually foams at the mouth...

That's the thing about our guys you don't understand... there's "getting hyped up" for a big game, then there's whatever the hell the Seahawks do. These guys all feel completely disrespected by everyone and use that to fuel their fire. The mainstream has been sniffing the Saints jocks hard for years, so they don't have anything to prove. The Hawks though... They very well might try to mount Drew Brees' head on a pike outside the stadium as a sign of their superiority.

That's why they seem to "play down" to teams like Tampa or STL. There's nothing to prove there. They're supposed to beat Tampa and STL. There's no fun in that. But to beat the SAINTS on Monday Night Football with the whole WORLD watching... Our guys live for that shit.

And please don't take this as me just talking smack. I honestly like the Saints, think they have great fans and respect their organization. Drew Brees is a great quarterback and Sean Payton a great coach, but this is what I think is going to happen. It's going to be a bloodbath.

This much I can agree with.

The Seahawks really play up to their fiercest competition, and at home it's at another level further.

Having said that, I wonder when the Seahawks will finally drop a game at home? If they don't lose to the Saints, then they'll most likely win the remainder in the regular season and maybe only the postseason they will drop a game.

On paper the Seahawks are a better team to me, but that's not a guaranteed W given what Brees is capable of doing on any given Sunday.

 

[SilkMonkey]

This team doesn't lose at home.

Darren Sproles is a handful to worry about with his explosiveness/top speed and Jimmy Graham is a big boy who can catch and run.

 

[jammerhawk]

Neither team would be wise to remotely underestimate the other.

That said the Seahawks have a huge home field advantage compared to most other teams in the NFL and the team NO will see is a much different team than the team that beat them in our house in the playoff game where the beast quake happened. That was two seasons ago and our young QB is close to being just a capable or even better than the Saints very talented QB. Clearly he can run better than Brees.

Not only that, the team will after their return to play have a healthy LT, RT, and OC and Percy Harvin who was quite special in limited play against the Vikings. The 12th man will give our D a 1/2 step over the NO OLine and we do have the Legion of Boom in the defensive backfield. Our pass rush is light years better than it was the last time we played the Saints and our D has proven they can take away a passing game and be very strong limiting any other team's running attack. Turnovers may decide the game.

There is no doubt the game will be an interesting game on many levels but I expect the Hawks to be a 7 point favourite in the betting. This may be the most important home game the team has played in a long time and Pete will have the team ready to play the whole game and not just the 2nd half.

I expect to be loud and for the 12s to set new noise records during this game. I hope to see lots of " beast mode" and a dangerously nasty pass rush from our team. The Saints are a talented team without any doubt and "on any different (Mon)day" any team can win but this game is in our house and the Hawks are very hard to beat in our house. I'm sure the extra time to prepare will help both sides to be ready for each other and a good game will result. It will be a fun game for football fans to watch as the two best teams in NFC go head to head.

Let's hope the referees don't decide the game.

 

[Laloosh]

This is probably the biggest matchup of the year so far, so our guys know that all eyes will be on them. I can't predict anything short of a critical beatdown.

Yeah, but the Saints won't be hyped up for this game either :roll:

Not like our guys. Earl Thomas goes kookoo banannas for games like this. He's going to look like a Tasmanian devil out there. He works himself up into a fervor. I think he actually foams at the mouth...

That's the thing about our guys you don't understand... there's "getting hyped up" for a big game, then there's whatever the hell the Seahawks do. These guys all feel completely disrespected by everyone and use that to fuel their fire. The mainstream has been sniffing the Saints jocks hard for years, so they don't have anything to prove. The Hawks though... They very well might try to mount Drew Brees' head on a pike outside the stadium as a sign of their superiority.

That's why they seem to "play down" to teams like Tampa or STL. There's nothing to prove there. They're supposed to beat Tampa and STL. There's no fun in that. But to beat the SAINTS on Monday Night Football with the whole WORLD watching... Our guys live for that shit.

And please don't take this as me just talking smack. I honestly like the Saints, think they have great fans and respect their organization. Drew Brees is a great quarterback and Sean Payton a great coach, but this is what I think is going to happen. It's going to be a bloodbath.

This much I can agree with.

The Seahawks really play up to their fiercest competition, and at home it's at another level further.

Having said that, I wonder when the Seahawks will finally drop a game at home? If they don't lose to the Saints, then they'll most likely win the remainder in the regular season and maybe only the postseason they will drop a game.

On paper the Seahawks are a better team to me, but that's not a guaranteed W given what Brees is capable of doing on any given Sunday.

Which is why the NFL scheduled the game for Monday. They don't want to mess with our streak.

 

[saints2k8]

and now with Harvin back, we have a dynamic kick returner as well.

He'll be lucky to get a return w/ the way Morstead kicks off. all it takes is one, though

A nice NFC championship preview under the lights is what we'll see.

I have to admit, that outside of the Saints offense, I know quite little about the team overall (defense? special teams highlights?).

I think what makes Seattle such a great team is the balance. A capable offense with a smash-mouth defense and fantastic special teams (See: Hauschka / Ryan). Are the Saints an equally balanced team?

Our defense is awesome overall. we've gotten gashed by the run by a team or two but thats about it. 11 TD passes given up in 11 games + 10 INT. Rob Ryan dials up blitzes every now and again. mostly a 4 man rush. Watch out for DE Cameron, Galette, and Hicks

Our Secondary is underrated. Keenan Lewis has been great. hasn't allowed more than 50 yds in a single game. Lofton @ ILB has been inconsistent. Hawthorne has been really good this year.

Offensively our running game has been really good since the bye week. nothing cute, just straight up punch you in the mouth runs. If we run early and getting solid yards, we likely won't lose. Brees is amazing to begin with.. give him a running game and he is pretty much unstoppable.

 

[RolandDeschain]

We're one of the most penalized teams in the NFL and we're 10 and 1. A lot of that goes at the feet of our shutdown D--Legion of Boom. It's just what happens. The drive-killing o-line penalties will lessen now that we've got guys who aren't soiling themselves in terror every snap.

I wasn't referring to penalties. I'm referring to major mistakes, like allowing a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.